Dimensions and Diversity in Primary Science Essay

Dimensions and Diversity in Primary Science - Essay Example The N.C offers varieties of subjects to choose Art and design, Citizenship, Design and technology, English, Geography, History, ICT, Mathematics, Modern foreign languages, Music education & Science. The aim of the N.C is to focus more on the qualities of the skill they need to posses in order to be more successful in school and higher learning. The curriculum offered should enable all young people to establish themselves as follows: The N.C gives a lot of importance to the development of Personality in school this is because so that young people are assisted in their morals, cultural, academic development which will be more focused on their needs no matter which social class they belong to. They learn to achieve higher standard of living and learn to enjoy the whole learning experience even making them much more responsible individuals. Personal learning and Enhancing thinking techniques are given more importance as it will help them to be a better civilian, manager, parent or even a life partner. In order to plan an effective curriculum for the children, it should be more focused on the personal development. Not forgetting that each employee of the school can effectively contribute toward the child's development. Educating children will allow them to have a brighter future plan so in order for this to happen they need to develop important skills that will make their quality of life and employment opportunity m uch better. This would include those skills that transmit to learning or other skills which are more generic or which are convenient. This will help them to be more creative, reflective learner, solution finders and work in teams and in order to be successful they will also learn to transmit their ideas , that is communicate more efficiently. The N.C is basically focused on (PLTS) that is development of personal, learning and thinking skills. And along with this polishing of basic skills like English, Mathematics and information technology is given utmost importance. (13 May 2008.). key stage 3& 4. Retrieved January 1, 2009, from Skills Website,http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/curriculum-in-action/casestudieslibrary/case-studies/Inclusion_and_success_for_all.aspx ) Since Science is now an important subject much light is given on it by the National Curriculum. It focuses on energy, electricity and forces and their effects on shape and motion and the variety of electric current in circuits it also focuses on Material behavior of atom and its physical properties, elements and compounds. The national curriculum for science also focuses on the life process, biology, fertilization, growth development and also the harmful effects of drugs on humans and also how ones behavior maybe influenced by external and internal factors. Finally, it help learn about the whole universe, that would be all the planets and how human activity brings about other changes in the environment. The new-fangled curriculum which is now been formulated

The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna Essay Example for Free

The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna Essay The Sand Pebbles was written in 1962 by Richard McKenna and it’s about Yangtze River gunboat in 1926 and McKenna had served aboard in 1936. The novel was later acted as film in 1966 that starred Steve McQueen, Candice Bergen, Mako, Richard Crena and Richard Attenborough. The movie was directed Robert wise after Anderson adapted the novel from McKenna. The novel depicts colonialism and racism of that time in both small scales, by showing the interaction between the Chinese coolies that operated boats and American sailors and the Chinese bar girls at the shore and large scale by showing how the gunboat diplomacy was used in dominating the vulnerable china thus reducing it to a virtual anarchy by political factions and feuding warlords. The Sand of Pebbles gives a reflection on the life of American navy at a time when the china sailors were in poor light. The native Chinese mocked them, while the superior officers treated with pride and were termed as an embarrassment by their people whom they were meant to protect. The military is not regarded as a career but a way to escape and even as a punishment. Given their universal lack of sense and respect, it’s not surprising that the sand pebbles have comfort in their menial tasks; this makes the pebbles to feel superior to some people. Jake arrives and has self respect and maintains the engine without seeking the imported help and prefers the company of his engine because they deliver their best and have no emotions like the human beings that bring about conflict between them. Care, respect and his affection towards the engine display a fragile and gentle side towards Jake which leads to friendship with Po-Han whose is one of the coolies because of his understanding for the engine. Jake is uncomplicated, straight forward, reasonable, honest and treats others with high respect but trouble begins when he, together with other Sand Pebbles conflict among themselves because of various features of the world affairs and those of the society. The destiny of horrible sailors that has no likely hood to inspire interest with less identification makes The Sand Pebbles a great novel. More so it handles themes like racism, social injustice, love, friendship, military intervention, brutality of war, among other themes. Political intervention and military is the focal point of the novel. San Pablo’s mission is to protect the interests of the Americans in the foreign country and using its military power if need be. This clearly displays the colonial approach and the enthusiasm of taking advantages of the obvious division in a developing nation. This is not very different from the today’s world where by the multinational companies play some roles in politics as nations defend each other because of the oil interests. The novel touches the lives of everyone, mostly the ones used as instruments for political plans and ambitions and the decreasing differences between the military and politics. Jake finds some features in the military and discipline too hard to stomach and within his ego feels that there is some thing he can contribute and henceforth he will be valued. Currently most of consider how to make our lives better by having better job but rarely do we think broadly about thing like the politics yet Jake in 1926 could think about nationalism and patriotism The missionaries and Shirley in china forego their nationality so that they can be accepted and win the respect and trust of the Chinese revolutionaries and volunteer to assist on development and education instead of defending their countries blindly. When Jake is invited he sees this invitation as a means of simplifying his life because he has undergone a lot of suffering in the system. Jake begins a process of personal development and growth that curiously reflect the kind of revolution that took place in china It’s a thought provoking, excellent novel where emotion keeps haunting the mind. Emotion is kind of the key to the novels success while McKenna deals with big issues and themes. The reality where by the insignificant individual are affected by the social strife and politics is shared to every one who reads the novel. It is a human anti war novel with a lot of sympathy and mind provoking though it’s not clearly understood by some critics. The novel touches on recurrent situation or lessons concerning identity politics and international exploitation where by instilled fear turns in to the social currency. The events and characters have critically illustrated moral slipperiness of identity and race, falseness of the political positions, the dangers that can about due to self indulgent, justifications of social righteous and finally how the moral judgment can be termed as useless once power play is a tool of encouraging violence to rise. What the hell happened are the last words of Jake, theses cap it all, that is exploitation and violence has a means of creating crowd mentality that strips individuals and nations of discernment, of sense, of the ability to assess complexity and steering the crowds in to false and arbitrary positions despite of the existing facts and what the majority of the people feel and think. When things get to this extreme, the ruling class mentality becomes to kill or either be killed. Reference Richard McKenna 2000) the Sand Pebbles, Naval Institute Press, US

Relationship Between Photography Art And Psychology Photography Essay

Relationship Between Photography Art And Psychology Photography Essay I believe that great art and photography can be produced as a result of psychic energy created from repressed drives and instincts being effectively sublimated into a creative activity. I also believe that a great deal of art created is a result and expression of what Freud referred to as the Death Drive. Furthermore I believe that increased levels of psychic energy and tension can be linked to the production of great art. Freuds death drive theory was first revealed in his 1920 essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Feud formulated this theory after working closely with patients suffering from severe trauma. Throughout the First World War Freud spent a great deal of time working with and observing the behaviour of the soldiers who had returned from the battlefields and trenches. Many of these soldiers were suffering from Traumatic War Neuroses (which is now referred to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Freud observed that the soldiers often had a tendency to dream, obsess, mentally repeat and in some severe cases re-enact the traumatic events they had witnessed. This obsessive attachment to the trauma seemed to contradict Frauds previous essay The Pleasure Principle which suggests that the individual is constantly seeking to maximize his or her own pleasure. Freud suggested that the mind is split into three distinctive groups. Firstly we have the conscious, which is home to those thoughts and percepti ons of which a person is fully aware. Secondly we have the pre-conscious, which is where we store our knowledge and memories and thirdly we have the unconscious, which is material that cannot be made available voluntarily such as fears, unacceptable sexual desires, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, selfish needs, immoral urges and violent motives. The three layers of personality are often portrayed as a mental iceberg, which is used to illustrate the incredible size of the unconscious. It is important to understand that according to Freud the death drive is part the id. The id is the most instinctive and primitive part of a persons personality and is the system we come equipped with at birth. According to Freuds essay The Pleasure Principle the id does not know right from wrong, it has no perception of morals, values or standards it simply seeks to maximise its own pleasure. The ego begins to develop after birth as the child begins to interact with their environment. The ego operates on the reality principle, which is survival orientated and prevents the person from doing anything that is overly detrimental. The super ego develops later as a result of societys values, morals and standards being passed onto the child through interaction with other people and adults. The super ego is the part of the personality that strives for perfection and works in contradiction to the id. Because the id and super ego are so dramatically opposed it falls on the ego to act as the m iddleman. The ego must satisfy the ids primitive impulses without offending the super egos moral character whilst also taking into consideration the reality of the situation. Human beings are torn between two opposing instinctive drives. On the one hand we have the Eros (the life drive). The Eros is a creative drive that promotes and supports harmony, reproduction, sexual connection and preservation of both the self and the species. On the other hand we have the Thanatos (Death Drive). The Death Drive is self-destructive and instinctively seeks aggression, compulsion, repetition and obliteration. Freud believed that the Death Drive is a persons drive towards death and the wish to return to an inanimate state. There are more socially acceptable ways of expressing the creative and sexual needs of the Eros without offending the moralistic super ego. It is the Death Drives destructive and aggressive characteristics that are more difficult to express. This could result in mindless aggression, masochism and hate. Because the ego has such a difficult time satisfying the impulses of both the id and the super ego it uses tools often referred to as Ego Defence Mechanisms to reduce anxiety and protect self-esteem. These defence mechanisms include denial, displacement, intellectualization, projection, reaction formation, rationalisation, regression, sublimation and suppression. The ego defence mechanisms are used to push something that causes you anxiety into the unconscious. Freud believed that any psychic energy that is repressed would later have to emerge in one way or another. Freud stated that the psyche works to get rid of this energy in three ways. The first is catharsis, which will discharge the psychic energy through unconscious impulses such as laughter and crying. Sublimation is the second method that the psyche uses to channel the psychic energy. Sublimation converts the instincts and impulses to allow the person to express them in a way that is acceptable to the super ego write books, paint pictures, build bridges, do research, learn mathematical equations and so on (Nye 1999 pg 14) .If you cannot sublimate enough it can seriously affect your mental health. The displacement of the suppressed instincts then takes the form of the third method, which is neuroses. The neurosis is revealed in the form of symptoms. These symptoms work to reduce the psychic tension but are also detrimental to the person. These symptoms could manifest themselves in many forms such as depression, phobias, obsessions, denial and psychosis. This is why art is often used as an alternate therapy. The psychic tension is encouraged to manifest itself into something creative rather than letting it quietly fester into symptoms. Of the three defence mechanisms sublimation is the one that interests me the most. Sublimation is the mechanism that Freud believed could offer an overall explanation for artistic talent and the production of great art Since artistic talent and capacity are intimately connected with sublimation we must admit that the nature of the artistic function is also inaccessible to us along psychoanalytic lines (Clark 1965 pg165). Freuds essay on Leonardo da Vinci illustrates his theory regarding sublimation and its connection to artistic creativeness and genius. It is popularly believed that Leonardo da Vinci was homosexually inclined. He never married and was in fact charged with the act of sodomy twice in 1476 but was later released and the case dropped due to a lack of witnesses. Although anonymously accused of the act many of Leonardos contemporaries also believed him to be homosexual, Freud also believed this. It is the Oedipus complex that Freud believed could explain Leonardos homosexual inclinations. According to the Oedipus complex small children whilst in the Oedipal phase of libidinal and ego development (between the ages of three and five) harbour unconscious drives and feelings which centre around the complete possession of the parent of the opposite sex, in the case of a male child the mother would become the subject of this fixation. The child would then be in direct competition for the mothers affection with the father who at this point according to the child has become an intruder in the relationship. This would at first lead to conflict but the child soon realises that the father is bigger and in a position of authority. As the child then begins to recognise that the mother loves the father he wants to emulate his fathers masculine traits and behaviour in order to become more like him to earn favour with his mother. It is interesting that the Oedipus complex takes it name from the Greek mythological charter Oedipus who kills his father and marries his mother. Freuds views on this character were sympathetic he stated; His destiny moves us only because it might have been ours because the oracle laid the same curse upon us before our birth as upon him. It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulses towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father (Freud 1889 p296) Leonardo was an illegitimate child, later adopted by his father and brought up in his fathers household. There is no historical record which indicates what kind of relationship Leonardo may have had with his mother or his step mother, or which tells us what kind of people they were. Nor is it known at what age Leonardo was removed from his mother to be brought up by his step mother and father (Storr 1999 pg75/76) According to Freuds theory regarding the Oedipus complex if Leonardo did not have a sufficient mother figure he would have had no need to emulate his fathers masculine traits and behaviour. This is what led Freud to conclude that Leonardo was homosexual. Being homosexual, and not being able to express himself openly would have been a great cause of stress and anxiety for Leonardo. This stress and anxiety was repressed into his unconscious and could have ultimately led to mental heath symptoms had he not been able to sublimate it so effectively. Freud believed that Leonardo was sublimating his sexuality into something more appropriate. The suppressed drives and instincts of Leonardos id were being sublimated through his creativity so effectively that he was able to create some of the worlds most amazing art works and inventions. The irony of Freuds theory is that if Leonardo had been allowed to be openly gay he would not have created this work. So what characteristics reveal the presence of the death drive and when is the death drive recognizable in art? I believe that the death drive can be observed in the work of many great artist and photographers. Common physical manifestations of the death drive in art include such bleak and morbid imagery as the grim reaper, skulls, blood, crows and hooded figures, but the manifestation does not always appear in such a literal way. The death drive is often expressed in works of art through subliminal and symbolic methods. Freud interpreted art in a similar way to how he interpreted dreams It was natural that he should apply the same technique of interpretation to works of art as he did to dreams, phantasies and neurotic symptoms. Just like dreams Freud believed that art is an expression of unconscious. The Death Drive cannot always manifest itself overtly in art. Its representation is often symbolic as the super ego would be damaged by anything that society deems a taboo or unacceptab le. Although Freuds theory regarding the interpretation of dreams was not an aesthetic one, I believe that the connection between what a person dreams and what is expressed by the subconscious during the process of sublimating psychic energy into a creative form draws many similarities and could indeed be analyzed in a similar way. Although the Freudian analysis of dreams focuses more on how the subconscious deals with and associates with our memories and emotions I think the same analysis can be used to look at how our subconscious deals with and expresses these same memories and emotions physically. One of the most obvious examples of an artist that depicts the death drive in his artwork is Damian Hirst. Hirst who has been described by a London art critics as the hooligan genius of British art seems to have an unhealthy obsession with death, his work is famously dark and notoriously unpleasant and morbid. Death, destruction and imagery related or connected to mortality are reoccurring themes in a great deal of Hirsts work, so much so that his work is often instantly identifiable purely from its subject matter. Hirst became a household name after exhibiting a series of dead animals that included a fourteen-foot tiger shark a sheep and a cow that were all preserved in a specially created formaldehyde solution. The title of the exhibition The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living seems to suggests that you cannot witness or experience your own death, an interesting title given the contents and the nature of the exhibition. Hirsts work is an examination of the processes of life and death: the ironies, falsehoods and desires that we mobilize to negotiate our own alienation and mortality. By preserving and then exhibiting these dead animals Hirst forces his audience to confront death head on. In my eyes this shocking tactic sums up exactly how the death drive can express itself in art . The death drive Hirst is also famous for creating a life size human skull cast in platinum titled For the Love of God. The skull is encased in 8601 diamonds and is currently the most expensive piece of art ever created. The use of a real human skull -which according to Hirst was purchased in Islington emphasises his fixation with mortality. The skull, which to many is regarded as the ultimate sign of death could be interpreted as an obvious incarnation of Hirsts own death drive. When interviewed by the Guardian newspaper regarding his luxurious crystal skull Hirst was quoted I just want to celebrate life by saying to hell with death, Death is such a key aspect of Hirsts work but so to is the controversy that surrounds it. Not only is Hirsts work an artistic representation of the themes and imagery often associated with the death drive but I believe that it is also a direct manifestation of the psychic energy created by the death drive. This energy is being sublimated into a creative art form. The work of Hirst would seem, if anything to be the artistic representation of someone with a wildly overactive active death drive, if this is true what has caused this? Looking into Hirsts childhood and early life there are several interesting events that could explain his need to sublimate psychic energy into other activities. Sigmund Freud believed that by viewing and analyzing a piece of art in a way similar to analyzing dreams he could gain an incite into the unconscious drives and instincts that helped create them. what he did with varying success, was to discover in the work of art evidence of the artists presumed infantile conflicts Hirsts parents separated when he was still very young, as a result his mother struggled to deal with his wild and often criminal behavior. Hirsts relationship with his mother became ever more strained as she failed to tolerate his acts of rebellion. The separation of his parents at the age of twelve would have been a great cause for stress and anxiety. A stress that could have easily developed into a mental illness had he not been able to sublimate this psychic energy so successfully through his works of art. The breakdown in the relationship between Hirst and his mother would also have been cause of anxiety. It is perhaps due to this anxiety that he was able to achieve and be so successful in later life. Hirst struggled as an artist throughout the first 23 years of his life, He persisted despite many complications and rejections, first at school and then sixth form where he was finally admitted only after his art teacher pleaded passionately with the staff begging them to give him a place. After two years spent in sixth form he left with an E grade A-Level in Art. After sixth form Hirst was then turned down and refused admission to the Leeds College of Art and Design but eventually managed to gain admission after he submitted a successful application. After his time at college Hirst worked for two years on various building sites before applying for a place to study Fine Art at Goldsmiths University in London. Again Hirst was initially refused admission but later reapplied and was granted a place. The struggle of Hirst to succeed in his artistic career in itself would be a great cause of stress and negative tension. Could this tension and psychic energy be the underlying cause of his Hirsts confrontation with death Artists have always been fascinated with death. The artist almost instinctively seeks to address and confront death. This desire to seek out and face death is reflected in the photographic work of Erik Van Der Weijde. Weijde is a professional self-publishing photographer whose work is usually architecture related and whose work is often released in intricately created limited editions. Weijdes work based in Germany looks at buildings and architecture built and used by the Nazis between 1943 and 1945. The project titled Siedlung which translates as neighborhood or settlement is a journey that focuses on houses built by the Nazis for the German working class NSDAP members. The creation of these houses was a powerful propaganda tool for the Nazi party, which artificially removed people from unemployment and enforced a deliberate sense of unity and uniformity. The first thing that I notice about these images is how cold and sterile they appear. The houses are well kept but there is no sign of life. There are no people in the streets, no visible animals. There is not even a single bird visible in the sky. This bizarre deadpan aesthetic is obviously an expression of Weijdes death drive and his deliberately simple images create a surreal soberness that unsettles the viewer. The photographs themselves whilst working well as a set do not follow any traditional systems or ru les regarding traditional architectural photography. The images have a candid feel to them, the effect of which is a sinister voyeuristic overtone that adds to the uncomfortable image subjects. Weijdes other photographic projects include a set of photographs taken at a location where Marc Dutroux used to go skating before he started kidnapping girls This project is very similar to his project about Nazi architecture. The project simply titled Ice-skating lanes consists of a collection of images taken outside a skating rink. Similarly to the Nazi project the images show no evidence or make any reference to the events that took place. Perhaps taken out of context these images would not be so cold and sobering. Both of these projects have been shot within the last couple of years Ice-skating lanes is dated 2006 and Third Reich 2007. Weijde has decided to shoot the majority of the images in these projects not in colour but in black and white. I feel that the black and white images are much more effective and evoke a much stronger sense of dread. Death is a state of minimalism and this deliberate decision to remove colour from the images gives them an archival feel, which if anything strengthens the morbidly unsettling atmosphere captured in the photographs. The production or creation of an archive reflects the death drives compulsive need for repetition. Weijdes images are so simple in fact that they gain a surreal, otherworldly characteristic. The subject of Weijdes work is so frequently morbid that it is impossible to ignore his obvious fascination with death nor is it possible to ignore his deliberate pursuit and confrontation of death. I believe that Weijde is a true example of how the d eath drive can inspire art or photography. Weijdes interest lies purely in the fascination he has regarding the locations of these terrible incidents, he is not financially motivated nor does he seek controversy. The fascination of documenting death and destruction does not end with Eric Van Der Weijde. Photographers from all over the world share a similar bond with death, a bond draws them to scenes of unimaginable carnage. Enrique Metinides is known for his macabre depictions of life in Mexico City. Having photographed his first dead body before the age of twelve, Metinides developed an obsession with documenting the recently deceased, for years he slept with his radio tuned into the frequencies of various emergency services such as the police, fire brigade and ambulance, desperately trying to eavesdrop and listen in on breaking news on disasters and tragic events that was being relayed from call centers to the emergency services. Sleeping in his clothes and listening long into the night Metinides was always prepared to leave his house at a moments notice in order to follow a scoop. Metinides employed a series of unconventional methods to ensure that he was always first on scene, these methods included hanging around outside the various police stations and morgues and volunteering with the Red Cross so that he could arrive on scene with ambulances and paramedics, by doing this he was able to document the events without any interference from the public or police. The length that Metinides went to in order to ensure his place at the front of each incident illustrates his commitment and dedication to his work, a dedication that is shared by many artists and photographers. It is possible that this energetic drive was fuelled by Metinidess own death drive the sublimation of which resulted in the obsessive habits and behavior he developed in order to successfully pursue his work. Metinidess preparations often gave him the edge over the press and other reporters allowing him to be first on the scene of each disaster, armed with his trusted camera he documented each gru esome and bloody incident. During his career Metinides worked for the Nota Roja (bloody news). Whilst working for the bloody news Metinides built a morbid portfolio of suicide jumpers, decapitated bodies, street stabbings, crime scenes, accidental electrocutions, car wrecks, airplane crashes, exploding gas tanks, train derailments and other disasters. Metinidess photography is unpleasantly tragic; he depicts these scenes of carnage in such a stark and unforgiving way. The images differ considerably from the archival styled work of Eric Van Der Weijde in both content and style. Eric Van Der Weijdes images exhibit the death drive in a more subtle and symbolic way that at first glance could easily be missed, whereas the work of Metinides expresses the death drive in a much more aggressive way. This is partly because the work of Eric Van Der Weijde is inspired by acts from the past concentrating on documenting them in the present whereas Metinidess work focuses on the chaos, unpredictable and spontaneous nature of life and death. The subject matter of Metinidess work is so brutally shocking that it almost seems unreal. The images are almost driven to the point of abstraction as the audience is forced to confront the death that Metinides has photographed. These images arent cheap magazine photoplays. The deaths and disasters are real. So why was Metinides so obsessed with confronting death? What was it that he sought to document? The underlying cause of Metinidess build up of psychic energy which lead to the necessity of sublimation was not a result of repressed sexual as it had been with Leonardo Da Vinci, nor was it the result of a broken home or childhood conflicts with his mother. I believe that Metinidess entire career developed as a result of the first dead body he encountered as a child. The son of a popular restaurant owner young Metinides befriended the policemen and women that would eat there. They invited him to the station where he encountered his first corpse; the corpse had been laid on a track and beheaded by a train This scene took the fear out of me, so I could continue to look at these kinds of images for the next fifty years From then on Metinides used his box camera to take and collect pictures of accidents. Now this of course is not the usual behavior of a teenage boy and I believe could be the route of his lifetime fascination with the dead. Other interesting facts known about Metinides are that he is a passionate collector of various objects, particularly model ambulances and police cars which he owns over 4000 of. Excessive collecting is often linked to the death drive as the death drive seeks repetition. Metinides is also an obsessive archivist who even till this day compulsively catalogues video footage of live accidents from television for a growing personal archive again this behavior could be argued to be the result of the death drive but interestingly could also be explained by the Eros, the life drive that instinctively seeks to preserve and create. In an interesting interview with Metinides conducted by VMAGAZINE he tells of an incident where a man attempted to jump from the top of the Torero Stadium building because, he said he wanted to feel what death felt like. Metinidess work cannot visually convey what death feels like but it does however illustrate what death feels like to those around it. Personally I believe that Metinides work goes way beyond even the most compelling of photojournalism. When viewing Metinidess work I feel myself drawn into his images. I feel like I am watching the events from a safe distance but then the realization dawns that I am not alone. In many of Metinidess images large crowds of people have gathered around the scene of the accident and as I stare transfixed on the limp, lifeless body of a child or the cold dead face of a motor accident victim I slowly begin to pan out and notice the crowds of people not looking at the wreckage and chaos, instead there gaze is directly at me. People in the crowds are often looking straight into the lens of Metinidess camera it makes us, as the audience feel uncomfortable as there eyes meet with our own but at the same time this awkward eye contact completes the cycle of voyeurism. In a similar fashion to Damian Hirst Metinidess work exploits death. His whole career has been built around the sad and unfortunate events that ended with a person losing their live. It seems that being able to face death, whether morally right or not can be very profitable business. Death is a constant theme in the history of art and photography, I believe that the popularity of the subject lies in the audiences desire to understand and confront their own mortality. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..work shows how fragile we are and how suddenly life can be taken away from us. The fact that these images remain so admired and that Metinides is still regarded as Mexicos most popular newspaper photographer suggests that the obsession with death lies not just with the artist or the photographer but also with the audience. Perhaps the need for an artist to confront or portray death is not only a response to their own death drive but also to the death drive of their audience. I believe that by viewing work by artists such as Metinides the audience is able to sublimate some of their own negative energy. Art has long been known for its therapeutic properties Conclusion>>> Psychic energy is what fuels a persons actions. Art is a direct sublimation of this psychic energy. If you are well balanced and mentally well rounded you will have less of this psychic energy to draw from. So basically the more screwed up and mentally unstable you are the more psychic energy you have to express in your artwork. This is why many great artists are often on the edge/ verge of a mental break down.

My Life on Togetherness Essays -- family, parents, religion, freedom

I belong to a family that is characterized by being quite Post-modern. Talking about my parents, they do both participate in the public sphere. They both work in two separate domains, having consequently more freedom in the public sphere they encounter as a daily basis. For example, my mother works as a teacher, so she comes across mostly teachers and professors, and my father works as an architect, so he encounters mostly architects, without corrupting one another by endless phone calls or whatever. So Togetherness, which is the opposite of autonomy, is not really seen. What I described before is how things go between my parents, but I did not yet talk about the situation between my parents and us, their children. Our freedom grows proportionally with our age. When we were young, we weren't restricted to communicate only to the family members. In school, we were free to meet and talk to whoever we want. Of course they do warn us of the bad persons we might encounter, but we were feeling comfortable. As we grew up, the relationship between us start to be friendlier. Trust is there, which I believe is one of the most important criteria that should exist within a relationship, happiness is there, everything is fine. However, a criterion of togetherness was missing, which is the freedom of choice. Choices available to me were those that my parents provided me with. For example, one of my goals in my Life was, and still is, to become a Formula 1 racing driver, but unfortunately I wasn't able to achieve that, because my parents simply weren't able to assimilate the idea that I drive a "dangerous", fast car. I know it's too late now, but my dream is still to drive a Formula 1 car, at least before I pass away. Anyway, my family is the ... ...rnal or external. when everything's ticking along just fine, I don't think most people give much thought to it; evidence of that can be found in the confusion with which most people will respond to questions like, "what makes someone a man/woman?", or, "how do you know that you're a woman/man?", without referring to biology. But as soon as something's not quite right, whether that's an internal feeling of incongruence or an external challenge to one's gender, suddenly it becomes very important indeed. Finally it does work for me, and I am not emphasizing any counter ideas toward girls. I don't have any problem with them; each of us is different at several levels. I can have positive criteria by being a boy and my sister, for example, can also have positive criteria that I do not have by being a girl. I was born a male; I will grow as a male, and will die as a male.

Alice Walker †flowers Essay

â€Å"The Flowers† is a story written by Alice Walker, in 1988. It’s a 3th-person narrator that tells the story. The story tells us about a girl, whose name is Myop. She lives near a forest in a cabin with her family. Sometimes she walks in the forest with her mother, they collect nuts among the fallen leaves – actually they have done it many times, so that’s why Myop knows the forest very well. One day she is out for one of these walks, but by herself. This day something is different in the forest, and Myop decides to go home, but suddenly there is a man†¦lying in the forest floor, just beside a wild pink rose. When first we meet Myop she is walking near her house, playing around with her stick making sounds, she is walking towards the forest. Myop is a ten-year-old girl, and it seems like she still is a bit naive and unaware of what is going on in the world. This I also therefor I think the name Myop maybe could come from the expression â€Å"myopia†, which means narrow sighted or shortsighted. Myopia causes that the image you see, when you look at something in a longer distance, it’s out of focus or most likely impossible to see. That day she was walking in the forest alone. She made her own path, going that way and that way, while she was collecting blue flowers. She was having fun all by herself. She seems very innocent, but also confident, because she is walking all by herself. Normally she likes to walk in the forest, and also this day until something changes, suddenly the forest doesn’t feel safe anymore, and as a reader you get a feeling of fear on the behalf of Myop. In the text there is written â€Å"the strangeness of the land made it not as pleasant as her usual haunts†(page 1 line 24). Here you begin thinking of what might happen since things suddenly are different than they use to. Myop is getting insecure and afraid, so she decides to walk back home to the house, but on her way home she stumbles over something. â€Å"It was then she stepped smack into his eyes. Her heel became lodged in the broken ridge between brow and nose, and she reached down quickly, unafraid, to free herself.†(page 1, line 26-29). This is possibly the first time Myop faces dead, until now she has been childish and a bit naive to the rest of the world. So I can’t image that she has been faced with something so serious like this before. The man she stumbles over I’m pretty sure have been an Afro-American. I say that because he was tall, had big bones and wore blue overalls, these things I mean prove that he was an Afro-American, because all of these things are typical for an Afro-American man and not a white man. Myop is also an Afro-American, this we hear in the text â€Å"the stick clutched in her dark brown hand†(page 1 line 9). Because of that it sort of takes a rotation in the story. I begin to think about White vs. Black people, and things like lynching or murder. There is a noose near the man, and that indicate that he might have been exposed to hanging/lynching. The fact that he isn’t buried is also a thing that makes me think of murder, and not a normal dead. And then there is the rose, there is only ONE pink rose, and it’s just beside the body of the man. This could might be a sign to the reader, that there maybe had been someone and laid it there, just like to a funeral where w e lay flowers on the grave. This almost convinces me of the fact that the man was killed, and there have been someone who loved him to say goodbye to him. In the end of the story Myop lays her own blue flowers beside the pink rose. I think it could be a sign that Myop has changed that day, she has seen some terrifying things, and involuntarily needed to handle and think of things, which actually what just what she needed. The walk in the forest possibly made her see that the world isn’t just all good, and that there is some things out in the real world, which is not what she expected – but it’s not bad that this happened to her, in a way it helped her grow away from being a kid. Some day we grow up and need to see the world in a different perspective, than we do as kids. This day was the day Myop mentally grew a bit older, and may started to see the world in a different way.

Pinyin Exercise

Chinese Pronunciation Pronunciation Chinese is not a phonetic language, as a result its pronunciation is not related to the written Chinese words (characters). In order for non-Chinese speakers to learn the correct pronounciation, a system called â€Å"Pinyin† was developed to transcribe the sounds of Standard Chinese. Pinyin uses the letters of the familiar English alphabet to help the student determine the pronounciation of the unfamiliar Chiense words. Most Mandarin sounds are easy for English speakers to pronounce although some require more practice than others.Pinyin is also a useful tool for learning new vocabulary and for looking things up in a dictionary as well as for typing Chinese. Other than this, however, it has no practical usage since Chinese people do not read or write in pinyin. Actually, many Chinese people do not know pinyin at all. Therefore, you should learn to read and write in characters as soon as possible. I. The four tones: Chinese is known as a tonal language. Tones are the results of the variation of pitch levels in the pronunciation of a syllable.Each syllable is composed of three components: (a) Initials; (b) Finals; (c) tones. Except for nasal sound like â€Å"n† and â€Å"m†, all Chinese syllables ends with vowels. So we call them â€Å"Final Sounds†. The consonants at the beginning of a syllable are called â€Å"Initial Sounds†. There are altogether 21 initials as shown in Table 2. Initials only refer to the consonants that appear in the initial position of a syllable. Although it is acceptable to have a syllable without an initial, there must always be a final. A final may have one or more vowel sounds and sometimes a consonant ending like -g and -ng .In fact, other than -g and -ng other consonants can’t appear in a final at all. Altogether, there are thirty seven finals as listed in Table 3. There are 4 tones in Mandarin Chinese as illustrated in Table 1. Each Chinese word (character) carries a tone. Perhaps the most important thing to remember at this stage is the fact that different tones of a certain syllable indicate completely different meanings. The features of the four tones are clearly illustrated in the following diagram: Figure 1: Figure 1: a. The four tonesThe representation of tonal pitch contours as numbers in Figure1 is attributed to Yuen Ren Chao, who devised this scale to cover the tonal aspects of the Chinese language as well as other tonal languages. Unlike the music score, it consists of five arbitrary levels and each is labeled from the bottom upwards, 1 through to 5. As with the music score, the lowest line represents the lowest pitch, and the highest line, the highest pitch. The variance of the pitch could be captured using the reference pitch numbers by observing the starting, middle and end-points of the tone.The numbers were then enclosed in two forward slash marks. For example, /55/ would be a high level tone, whilst /11/ is a low level one. /53/ is a high falling tone, /35/ is a mid rising tone, whilst /31/ is a mid falling tone. /214/ is a tone which starts low, falls and then rises again. Short tones can also be represented as a single number for instance a short mid level is /3/. By using the numbers, Tone one is /55/; Tone two is /35/; Tone Three is /21/4 and Tone Four has the pitch level of /51/. The lines in the above table indicate the pitch contours of the four tones.And the four tones are represented with the following symbols (Table 1): Tones First Second Third Fourth Symbols Examples di di di di Table 1: Symbols of tonal accent If we use the musical notes to illustrate on the five scale, the four tones have the following patterns: Figure 2: b. The Four Tones Tone One: Tone One has the highest pitch level for it starts at five and ends up at five. It is near the top of your comfortable range. As a result, you should be able to sound the first tone syllable continuously without effort. ma: maaaaaa†¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Tone Two: Tone Two starts in the middle of your voice range and rises straight toward the level of the first tone. It is similar to the English tone when you are questioning: What?! ma: ma? Tone Three: Tone Three is the lowest tone of all. It starts low and then rises towards the middle high pitch level and has longer duration. Your pitch level should drop until you feel out of breath and then release it. ma Tone Four: Tone Four begins at the top of your comfortable range and proceeds quickly to the bottom. It is short and sounds as if you are being stern. ma Tonal exercise exercise: 1. Listen to the recording and read alound: a-ma ma-ma ma-ma mi-mi mi-mi mi-mi li-li la-ma fa-fa fa-fa fa-fa ni-ni ni-ni bi-di ni-li la-ma ta-ta ta-ta ta-ta ti-ti ti-ti ti-di li-ni ma-la da-da da-da da-da di-di di-di li-ni ni-li la-ma pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa pi-pi pi-pi ni-mi li-ni pa-ma 2. Listen and indicate the tonal accent for the following syllables: ta ting da ding ni ning mi fa ma ping pu hao tu lao hen dong bo nin ming lin II. The initials: As was introduced earlier, there are 21 initials altogether. Initials are similar to the English consonants. However, they differ in that initials only refer to the consonants that appear in the initial position of a syllable.The 21 initials are listed below according to the positioning of one’s mouth in producing the right sounds in Table 2. Table 2 Table of initials Unaspirated Aspirated Labial Dental Guttural Palatal Retroflex Dental Sibilant b(o) d(e) g(e) j(i) zh(i) z(i) p(o) t(e) k(e) q(i) ch(i) c(i) Nasals m(o) n(e) Fricatives fo l(e) h(e x(i) sh(i) s(i) Voiced Continuants r(i) Please note that the initials can not be pronounced without adding certain finals. Please practice with your teacher in class and listen to the audio sounds after class. The initials listed in Row 1 are called labials because the lips must be used to pronounce them.The sounds in Row 2 are dentals because the teeth are employed to produce these sound s. The initials listed in Row 3 are called ‘gutturals†, which means their pronunciation, is controlled by the muscles in the back of the mouth. Actually, since the initials listed in Rows1-3 are very similar to the English consonants, you can achieve their sound very easily. The â€Å"Palatals† in Row 4 needs more practice. When pronouncing j and q, you must first raise the front of the tongue to the hard palate and press the tip of the tongue against the back of the lower teeth, and then loosen the tongue and let the air squeeze out through the channel thus made.The two sounds only differ in that the q is an aspirated sound. To pronounce x, you should raise the front of the tongue towards (almost touching) the hard palate and then let the air squeeze out. In short, j(i) is like j in jeep. q(i) is like ch in cheap and cheese. x(i) like sh in banshee, between the s in see and the sh in she. Refer to Figure 2 for a better understanding. Figure 2: Palatals The initia ls in Row 5 are â€Å"retroflexes†. To pronounce this sound, the tongue is curled back (retroflexed) until the tip touches the front part of the roof of the mouth.The tongue is only a little farther toward the back of the mouth than when pronouncing the initials r in ‘run’. To pronounce zh, ch, the tip of the tongue begins by touching the roof of the mouth, then quickly moving away. The two sounds differ only in that a strong puff of air accompanies with ch sound. zh is kind of like dg in fudge, and ch is like ch in church, but curl the tongue up toward the zh(i) ch(i) roof of the mouth while pronouncing the â€Å"ch† sound. But when produce the sound of sh, r, the tip of the tongue does not ever touch the roof of the mouth but simply rests in a close-by position as illustrated in Figure 3 below. h sounds like sh in English, but you should curl the tongue up sh(i) toward the roof of the mouth while pronouncing the â€Å"sh† sound. r(i) sounds zhr as in pleasure. Please note that r is the only initial that is voiced. zh-ch Figure 3: Retroflexes shi ri Dental sibilants (buzzing or hissing sounds) are listed in the last row. They are called â€Å"Dental sibilants† because the pronunciation of which involves the tip of the tongue placed behind the top of front teeth. The tongue must be farther towards the front than when pronouncing an English s. z, is not too far from ds in â€Å"reads†. , is near the ts in â€Å"carts† though more air should be blown out. Exercises on Initials: 1. Listen and repeat: b: babi baibei p: pipei f: fafang h: hehao d: dadao t: titan l: linli r: ruran j: jiaji q: qiqi x: xiaxiang zh zh:zhizhong ch ch:chuchu sh sh:shisheng z: zizu c: s: cengci sisuo paipao fanfa heihai dedao tiaoting lunluo rengran jinji qinqing xixin zhaizhu chengche shushi zuzong cancun susong baobi papo fafu hehu didian tantu lailin renren jingjia qingqi xixia zhangzhou chachao shensheng zaizao caice sansi benbo p opi fangfa huihuang daidong tingtang lingli rongru jingjie qingqing xinxi zhazhen chachang shanshui zizun cuncao sisui ubi pianpang fenfu huahui dongdan tongtian lanling runri jiajin qinqing xianxiang zhuzhai chuanchu shangshu zangzu cuicu susuan 2. Listen and pronounce the following syllables. Please pay attention to the unaspirated initials and aspirated initials: b-p: piaobo paiban bianpai banping pingpao paobing pingbi pengbi pibao peibei panbi pianpi d-t: tongdeng ditou z-c: zaici caozuo g-k: gekai gongkai kaiguo konggang keku guku kangu kuaigan guke guoku kaigong kuguan cizu zanci zice canzan caizi zaice zacao cezi cazao zican deti daiti tidu tida dianti diaotou tidan dantian ditu ditang 3.Please pronounce the following retroflexes: zhuchu shizhang shishi zhizhu chushi reshui ruoshi chicheng shichang shusheng shaoshu zhashe rizhao ruizhi chishui changchu chuanchang zhenzhong chushu shiren renzhi chushou zhenzheng shenzhi chishui zhengshi zhiran renzhi zhichi caishui chuangshan g chouchu changcheng shice chuzhong rushi zhiru chuanchang shashi shangren rengran ruchang 4. Please practice the following palatals with the recording: pijing qijian qicai qixian jingqi xiaqi xiqi jijin qixiang chuqu chaijian jiuji jiaqi pingxi jianqi pingjing jiaoqi xingjin xiqin qijia qinqie jiqi qixi jiaxiao xianxiang qinjian inxing xiaojing xiangxin xiaji xingqi qingjin jingji jingxi qinxin qingjing qiangquan xiangjin jianqi jiqiao jiajie qingxing 5. Read aloud and compare: b—f:bafang p—f:pifu d—l:daili t—l:tuliao f—h:fahui r—l:luru zh—z:zhizao zh— ch—c:canchuan ch— sh—s:shisi sh— zh—j:zhijing zh— ch—q:chaqi ch— sh—x:xishou sh— jizhe qiche shanxi fabiao fupin lidai liti huifa rangli zizhu chuci sishi zhijin chaiqian xiaoshi binfen pifa dalian tilian fanhuan rili zhuzu changci shensi jiazhi qincha shixi fangbian fangping lada lantian hefa ranliao zengzhan g checi shanse zhiji changqing xishu bufu pingfan danliang tianliang fanhua liren zhize chicu shisanIII. The finals: : The basic vowels: There are altogether six basic vowels in Chinese as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 Basic vowels a is a central vowel. To pronounce it, the tongue remains in a natural, relaxed position, as a in father. o is a rounded semi-high back vowel. It sounds like o as in or, like the wa in wall. You should have the lips rounded to pronounce it. e is an unrounded semi-high back vowel. To produce this vowel, first pronounce o, then change the shape of the mouth from rounded to unrounded. At the same time open the mouth wider.This vowel is different from â€Å"e† in English, which is pronounced with the tongue raised slightly forward. It needs special practice. i is an unrounded high front vowel. The tongue is raised higher than it would be to ea. pronounce its counterpart in English as in tea. u is a rounded high back vowel. The tongue is raised higher tha n it would be to pronounce its counterpart in English. It slightly resembles the o as in English oo To pronounce it: (1) The tongue must be pulled toward the back of the mouth while the lips make a very small opening in front. 2) Imagining that you holds as much water as possible without either swallowing it or spilling any of it out of the lips. (3) Try to whistle the lowest note possible, then vocalize instead of actually whistling. u is a rounded high front vowel. It is a combination of i and u. To produce this vowel, (1) first pronounce i, then modify the shape of the mouth from unrounded to rounded; (2) try to whistle the highest note, but vocalize instead of actually whistling. i also represents two additional special vowels: -i one is an alveolar front vowel, it goes with z, c, s; the other is an alveolar ack vowel, it goes with zh, ch, sh, r. The finals: A final may have one or more vowel sounds and sometimes a consonant ending like -g and ng . In fact, other than -g and -ng other consonants can’t appear in a final at all. Putting altogether, there are thirty six finals as listed in Table 3. Table 3: The finals: Row -a -i -u -i i a ia e ie -i ai Ending -o/-u ei ao ou iao iu ui -n an en -ng -r ang eng ong er iang ing iong uang ueng ian in uan un u ua uo uai -u u ue uan un ei sounds like eigh in sleigh and eight. ao reads as ow like the au in sauerkraut. u sounds like oh, as in soul. an has the sound of ahn, between the an in can and the on in con. en sounds like un as in run, as en in chicken. ang sounds like ahng, a as in father and ng as in sing. eng has the sound of ung as in hung and lung. ong ong(ueng) is like the ung in German jung or, u as in put plus ng as in sing. er crosses between ar and er. ia sounds like ee-ah (quickly, as one syllable), like the ya in yacht. ie reads as ee-eh (quickly), like the ye in yet. iao starts with ee in see and end with ow in now. u iu(iou) sounds like yo as in you or eo as in Leo, close to u in union. ian r eads as ee-en (quickly)( an after i sounds between man and men in English) in in(ien) sounds like een as in seen, like the ine in machine. iang sounds like ee-ahng (quickly) . ing ing(ieng) is similar to ing as in ring. iong goes like ee-ong (quickly), almost like German jung. ua sounds like wa as in wash and the wa in wander. uo sounds like the wo as in wore and the wa in waltz. uai sounds like why or like the wi in wide. ui( ui(uei) goes like way, between we and weigh. uan is similar to wahn, as in wander . n un(uen) is similar to when or the wen in Owen. uang sounds like wahng. ueng starts with u as in put then quickly goes to eng. ue goes like the German umlaut u in uber plus e in ie. uan starts with u and then wan as in wander. un starts with u and then goes on to en quickly. Please note that the vowel quality of some finals varies with different tones. For example, the final iu (you) with the first and the third tone will sound different. Therefore, our focus should be on the accuracy of the tones instead of on the distinctions. Exercises on Finals: 1.Please read the following syllables aloud: o: pomo bopo fotuo e: u: u: er er: ei ei: ao ao: lehe bufu yuju erjiu feiche paomao keke pubu xuqu erhu xuefei gaozhao ou ’zhou nuoruo tongxue zhuisui tanpan renzhen qinxin hundun tese zhuchu quju erxi beihou baodao dou ’ou guocuo hulue huigui ganhan genben pinyin kunlun moluo hege tushu quyu ji ’er leihen laobao shougou tuoluo yuanyue cuihui canzan menzhen xinxin shuncong mopo ji ’e fuwu yunu ersai weisuo baochao goushou cuoluo yuenan hesui shanshi shenchen xinyin zungui ou ou: shouhou uo uo: zuocuo ue: ui ui: xuexiao huicui n an: canlan en en: in in: zhenren binlin un un: chunsun 2. Contrasts: ou—(u)o ou—(u)o:doushuo u—u —u: ei—ui ei—ui: lushu duilei gouduo luxu cuifei shoucuo juzu beiwei tuolou lutu leitui rouguo quchu leizhui ao—ou ao— ou: baochou an—ang an—ang:dan gran en—eng en— eng:zhenzheng in—ing xinxing in—ing: ong—-iong ong—-iong:longxiong uan—un:yuanjuan an— uan—un: luanlun uan— ie— ue: ie— u—iu u—iu iu: jieyue jiuju laorou nanfang zhencheng xinqing yonggong qunxuan chuannuan xuejie qujiu chanshen jiaohao chaoshou bangwan chengren jinling qionglong yuanjun tuandun quexie luxiu shancen qiaogao houtao hangang zhengshen pinqing xiongyong xuanyun shunshuan xieyue jiuqu zhenchan liaokao roudao kangzhan lengshen yingxin jiongpo quanjun chunguan juelie xuliu nanfen daoqiao en—an en— an: sanzhen ao—iao ao— iao:xiaoyao III. Pinyin Romanization-spelling rules: rules: Pinyin Romanization has been the official romanization system in the People's Republic of China since 1958. Some of the finals (in boldface) listed in Table 3 are spelled differently as shown below in Table 4. Row -a -i -u -u -i a e -i ai Ending -o/-u ei ao o u yao you -n an en -ng -r ang eng ong er yang ying yong wang weng i ya ye wu wa wo yu yue wai wei yan yin wan wen yuan yun Table 4: Finals in Pinyin Romanization The spelling rules are summarized as below: Tone marks: We know that the four tones are indicated by the diacritical marks: -, /, /, that appear above the vowels of spelled syllables. There are rules to follow about where to put the diacritical marks. First, if there is a single vowel in the syllable, put it over the vowel. Second, if there is more than one vowel, put it over the vowel in this order: a, o, e, i, or u. When two vowels i and u are together, you put it over the last vowel.Third, if the diacritical mark is over an i, omit the dot. xin –new (adj. ) re –hot (s. v. ) ren – person (n. ) dui – correct (adj. ) leng – cold (s. v. ) liu – to stay (v) Spelling rules: u 1. When the uo final combines with the labial initials b, p, m, f, the â€Å"u† drops out. bo – wave (n. ) po – broken or worn out (adj. ) mo – to rub (v. ) fo – Buddha (n. ) u But the â€Å"u† stays when any other initial is used. duo – much or many (adj. ) cuo -wrong (adj. ) 2. When the u final combines with the palatal initials j, q, or x, the umlaut drops out. This is u because only the u final can go with j, q, or x, but not the u final.Therefore, any time a â€Å"u† comes after j, q, or x, one knows it has to be the u final even though the umlaut is not there. ju (ju) – office or bureau (n. ) qu (qu) – to go (v. ) xu (xu) – to permit (v. ) The only other initials that u combines with are l and n. In these cases, the umlaut stays: nu – female (adj. ) lu – green(adj. ) i i y 3. When the finals beginning with â€Å"i† occur without an initial, the â€Å"i† changes to â€Å"y†. ie > ye – also (adv. ) iao > yao – want (v. ) The three finals i, in and ing are excepti ons to rule three, in which case a â€Å"y† is in, i added while the â€Å"i† remains: i> yi one (num. in > yin to print (v. ) ing > ying hard (s. v. ) i y When the final iu (iou) goes without an initial, the â€Å"i† changes to a â€Å"y† by rule four o and an â€Å"o† is added: iu > you to have (v. ) u u w 4. When the finals beginning with â€Å"u† occur without an initial, the â€Å"u† changes to â€Å"w†. uo > wo – I or me uan >wan – bowl w The u final is an exception to rule five. When it occurs without an initial, the ‘w’ is added: u>wu five (number) u When the ui (uei) and un (uen) finals occur without an initial, the â€Å"u† changes to a w e â€Å"w† by rule five and an â€Å"e† is added: ui > wei – stomach (n. un >wen – to ask (v. ) 5. When the finals beginning with u occur without an initial, the umlaut drops out and a y â€Å"y is added in front. u> yu f ish (n. ) uan > yuan distant (adj. ) 6. If the noun is a place name, then capitalize the first letter. If it is a Chinese name, capitalize the first letter of the surname and given name. beijing> Beijing (Peking) wang xiaoxiao> Wang Xiaoxiao niuyuu> Niuyue (New York) zhang zhong > Zhang Zhong (a name) Spelling exercises: 1. Please correct the spellings for the following syllables: uan> uan> diu> buo> ian> wun > zo> ie> uen> wuei > iu> jan> qong> chuen> wui> yuan > 2. Spell the dictated syllables and add the diacritical marks. ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ IV. Tone sandhi Tone sandhi refers to the sound change in tones when different sounds come together. Sandhi in Sankrit means â€Å"putting together†. Third tone Sandhi: In Mandarin Chinese, the most common tone sandhi rule is that the leading syllable in a set of two third-tone syllables is raised to the second t one. For example, nihao ( , the most common Mandarin greeting, is pronounced nihao. If there are more than two third tones, the same rule applies although other rules may apply. Exercise: Please read the following syllables. hen hao mai jiu shuijiao qi zao caozi yunxu chao mi mijiu jiugui suoyi zao zou liaojie yufa Lao Li yuanzu xiang zou yaogou xizao shuiguo ni hao laohu da gu bie zou xiao jiao Half third tone: If a third tone is followed by the first, second or the fourth tone, the third tone will only keep the falling pitch and remains there instead of rising. Since it is half realized, it is called a half third tone.Actually, a full third tone is only possible when it is phrase final or when it is by itself. The following figure (Figure 5) will indicate the change. Figure 5: Half third tone Exercises Please read the following syllables. Exercises: Niuyue (New York) Beijing (Beijing) laoshi (teacher) caihong (rainbow) wo lai (I will do it. ) wangqiu (tennis) zoulu (to walk) keshi (but ) qing wen (May I ask? ) Faguo nuhai ni shuo (France) (girl) (You speak) Meiguo (America) haokan (good-looking) falu (law) qing zuo (Please sit. ) qing shuo (Please speak. ) hao shu (good book) daqiu (to play a game) ni kan (You look. luyou (to travel) Fourth-tone Sandhi: When a fourth tone is followed by another fourth tone, the first one becomes a variant of the regular fourth tone as illustrated below in Figure 6. Figure 6: Fourth Tone Sandhi As indicated in Figure 6, the modified fourth tone starts as a regular fourth tone does. But its pitch level only drops to Scale 3, half as far as a full fourth. Exercise: Please read the following syllables. duihua (dialogue) guixing (honorable surname) Yidali (Italy) zaijian (goodbye) dianshi (T. V. ) sushe (dormitory) shuijiao (to sleep) shang ke (to go to class) zhaogu (to take care of) ieshao (to introduce) kanbao (to read newspaper) jiaoshi (classroom) Tone Sandhi for yi and bu: Yi (one; once) and bu (no, not) will also undergo t one sandhi under certain conditions. Preceding a syllable with the first, second or third tone, yi becomes yi. Bu keeps the fourth tone without any change. yiqi (together) bu hao (not good) yi jia (a family) butong (not same) yinian (one year) buting (not listen) When preceding a syllable with a fourth tone, both yi and bu become a second tone. yigong (altogether) buhui (can not) yixia (a little bit) buguo (but) yiyang (same) bukan (not to look)When yi and bu are phrase final or used alone, they keep their original tones: yi and bu. Please note that the tone of yi and bu will change only when they mean yi (one; once) bu (no; not). Exercise: Please read the following syllables syllables. yitian (a day) bu leng (not cold) yiding (definitely) yihuir (a moment) bu zhidao (I don’t know. ) yizu (a group) bu zao (not early) yi. ge (one + measure word) bu re (not hot) bu dui (not correct) buqu (not to go) di yi (the first) bu shi (not to be) bu mai (not to sell) bu xing (not okay) bu tai hao(not that good) buda (not big) u lai (not to come) Neutral tone tone: In actual speech, all unstressed syllables are pronounced with a â€Å"neutral tone†, which is sometimes considered as a lack of tone. In most varieties of Mandarin, the second syllable in two-syllable compounds is weaker in tonal prominence than the first one. A neutralized tone takes very little time to pronounce and does not hold or stick to its original tone. When actually pronouncing a neutral tone, one should not consider how a neutral tone sounds but focus on the tonal feature of the syllable that goes before it.Generally speaking, the pitch level of a neutral tone differs when following different tones as indicated in Figure 7. Figure7: Pitch level of neutral tones From Figure 6, we know that when following the first tone, the pitch level of a neutralized syllable is around the middle low pitch, i. e. at Scale 2. When it is after a second tone, the pitch level settles around middle pitch, i. e. Scale 3. When it goes after a third tone (half third tone actually), the pitch level is around middle high pitch, i. e. Scale 4. Its pitch level is the lowest, when a neutral tone is right after the fourth tone, i. . Scale 1. Whether a syllable is neutralized or not, one can’t tell from the Pinyin. In this book, we will either put a dot before a neutralized syllable or simply indicate it without a tone mark. Exercises: Please read the following syllables. xue. sheng (student) xi. huan (to like) di. fang (place) he. qi (gentle) tian. qi (weather) shu. fu (comfortable) ren. shi (to know sb. ) ta. men (they/them) women (we/ us) peng. you (friend) shen. me (what) jue. de ming. zi ge. ge fu. qin ma. ma ye. ye sun. zi (to feel) (name) (elder brother) (father) (mom) (grandfather) (grandson) yin. ei (because) di. di (younger brother) xie. xie (Thank you. ) jie. jie (elder sister) cong. ming (smart) er. zi (son) mu. qin (mother) ba. ba (dad) nai. nai (grandmother) ming. bai (clear ) xing. fu (happy) shi. qing (things) ke. yi (may) suoyi (therefore) ai. hao (hobby) gezi (height) dui. fu (to deal with) gongfu (Konfu) shuo. chu. lai (to speak out) er. duo (ear) guaibude (no wonder) kan. qi. lai (it seems that) xi. huan. shang(to begin to like) shuo. bude (can’t be blamed) The fickle ‘r’ sound: sound: Northerners, especially Beijingese tend to add the fickle ‘r’ to a word. uar (flower) menr(door) baimianr (drug, cocain) nar (where) qiur (ball) dianyingr (movie) dahuor (everybody) xiangweir (fragnant) hua huar (to draw) ge menr (buddy) miantiao (noodles) yucir (fish bone) yi kuair (together) xiao niaor (little bird) xiaohair ( little kid) yi dianr ( a bit) liaotianr (to chat) fan guanr (restaurant) mei zhunr (not sure) mei shir (nothing) xiao huar (joke) changger (to sing) guai wanr ( to make a turn) More Pinyin exercises: 1. Please read the following syllables: tongxue (classmate) waiguo (foreign country) xiao. iao (a Chinese name ) Shanghai (Shanghai) Jiazhou (California) gaoxing (happy) Zhongguo (China) Meiguo (America) peng. you (friend) liuxuesheng (international student) Yingguo (Britain) Lundun (London) xi. huan (to like) zhi. dao (to know) 2. Please read the following sentences: Jintian tian. qi hen hao. (The weather is good today. ) Bu leng bu re. (It is neither cold nor hot. ) Xin tongxue dou hen gao. xing. (New students are very happy. ) Robert shi Meiguo xue. sheng (Robert is an American student. ) Robert , ta you hen duo tongxue. you Meiguo tongxue, ye you waiguo tongxue (He has many classmates. (There are American students. ) (and there are also foreign students. ) , , Ta you yi ge Zhongguo pengyou, (He has a Chinese friend,) xing Wang jiao Wang Xiaoxiao. (whose surname is Wang and is called Xiaoxiao. ) Zhang Yizhong ye. shi Robert de xin peng. you. Robert (Zhang Yizhong is also Robert’s new friend. ) Ta bu . shi Meiguo xue. sheng. (He is not an American student. ) Ta shi Zhong guo liuxuesheng. (He is an international student from China. ) Wang Xiaoxiao shi Beijingren. (Wang Xiaoxiao is from Beijing. Zhang Yizhong bu. shi Beijingren, shi Shanghairen. , (ZhangYizhong is not from Beijing. He is from Shanghai. ) Robert hai you yi. ge Yingguo tongxue jiao Alex. Robert ,? Alex. (Robert also has a classmate from Britain, whose name is Alex. ) Ta ye shi liuxuesheng. (He is also an international student. ) Robert gen Alex dou hen xi. huan Zhongguo. (They both like China. ) Robertand Alex ye dou hen xi. huan Zhongwen. (Also they both like Chinese. ) Ni. shi Meiguo shenme di. fang ren? (Where are you from in the U. S.? ) ren. hi nimen hen gao. xing. (It is my pleasure to know you. ) 3. Please read the following poems: Jing ye si (Li Bai) Chuang qian ming yue guang, Yi shi di shang shuang. ju tou wang ming yue, di tou si gu xiang. (In the quiet night So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed – Could there have been a frost already? Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight. Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home. ) Chun xiao (Meng Haoran) Chun mian bu jue xiao, Chu chu wen ti niao. Ye lai feng yu sheng, hua luo zhi duo shao. A Spring morning Awake light-hearted this morning of spring, Everywhere round me the singing of birds – But now I remember the night, the storm, And I wonder how many blossoms were broken. Yong e (Luo Bin Wang) e e e, Qu xiang xiang tian ge, Baimao fu lu shui, Hong zhang bo qing bo. (Twisting its neck, , , , the goose is singing to the sky. With its white feather on the green water, the red palms are striking on the clear water. ) Hui xiang ou shu (He Zhizhang) Shao xiao li jia lao da gui, Xiang yin wei gai bin mao cui. er tong xiang jian bu xiang shi, Xiao wen ke cong he chu lai. (Coming home I left home young. I return old; Speaking as then, but with hair grown thin; And the children, meeting me, do not know me. They smile and say: â€Å"Stranger, where do you come from? â€Å") 4. Tongue twisters: Si shi si. Shi shi shi. Shi si shi shi si. Si shi shi si shi. Si shi si shi si shi si. Four is four. Ten is ten. Fourteen is fourteen. Forty is forty. Forty four is forty four. Che shang you ge pen, Pen li you ge ping, ping ping ping, pang pang pang, bu zhi shi pen peng ping hai shi ping peng pen. , , , , , There is a basin in the car, and a bottle in the basin. Bin bin bin, bang bang bang, Not knowing which is hitting which. Shu. shang you zhi xiao taozi, Shu xia you zhi xiao houzi. Feng chui tao shu hua hua xiang, Shu. shang diao xia xiao taozi. Taozi da zhao xiao houzi, Houzi chi diao xiao taozi. (There is a peach on the tree, There is a monkey under the tree. The wind blows and the tree talks, With the wind, the peach falls, Right onto the monkey. And the monkey eats the peach. ) , , ,

Have a Vinegar and Baking Soda Foam Fight

Have a Vinegar and Baking Soda Foam Fight This is a twist on the classic baking soda volcano, where you use the ingredients to make squirt-able fountains of foam. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: Mere Minutes Heres How First, you need bottles for everyone. The classic 2-liter bottle is nice because its compressible and holds a large volume. Gatorade bottles are also good because they have wide mouths, so its easier to recharge the bottle.Fill each bottle most of the way full of warm water and add a squirt of dishwashing detergent.Gather the rest of the materials you will need: lots of vinegar and baking soda and food coloring if you want colored bubbles. Be advised: adding food coloring could result in staining of clothing and other surfaces.Add some baking soda to the bottle (​a couple of tablespoons or so). Put your hand over the bottle opening and shake it up to get the detergent water all sudsy. Drip a bit of food coloring onto the suds.Note: if you add the food coloring before shaking the detergent water, then the dye will go into the water and the bubbles will be clear. If you add the coloring just prior to adding the vinegar then the bubbles will be deeply colored (which also increase s the staining potential). Pour in some vinegar. This starts the reaction. Feel free to give the bottle a little squeeze to help things along. Do NOT seal the bottle with a cap or lid. That basically makes a baking soda bomb, which is dangerous.You can recharge the reaction with more baking soda and then more vinegar. If at any time you feel like shaking up the bottle only do this with your hand over the opening and never cap or seal the bottle.The foam fight part most people figure out on their own. Have fun! Tips Avoid getting the mixture into your eyes or mouth. If eye contact occurs, rinse the solution out. Dont drink the contents of the foam fight bottle.Avoid contact with unreacted vinegar or undiluted dishwashing detergent. Both can irritate skin and mucous membranes. What You Need empty compressible plastic bottle - no lidswaterdiswashing detergentbaking sodavinegarfood coloring (optional)

summary of people of gilded age essays

summary of people of gilded age essays After the Civil War had ended, several soldiers had returned home to find their places of living destroyed. Most of these people returned to practically nothing. The United States had to rebuild itself, and this rebuilding was called Reconstruction. Today historians refer to this era of reconstruction as the part of the Gilded Age. Many people had to pickup and start all over again, while others continued their quests of expanding. Expanding by taking control over the land or by expanding their beliefs, either way lives of these people reflected the social tensions of the Gilded Age. Philip H. Sheridan, who was one of the heroes of the Civil War, was a soldier who had started his career on the frontier and would return there after the war to help the United States in expanding its territory by having to combat many Native Americans in doing so. Sheridan was an extremely important person who helped conquer the frontier. Sheridan believed in the freeing of black slaves, and decided that he would help protect the blacks now that they were free. He expresses his opinion about what is done to black people in Texas by commenting that the black codes are a policy of gross injustice toward the colored people on the part of the courts, and a reign of lawlessness and disorder ensued.(10) Sheridans defense of the black cause much tension in his life, in Texas, that he was later reassigned to command the Department of the Missouri. (11) In 1869 when Grant had became President; he appointed Sheridan lieutenant governor and command of the Division of Missouri. Sheridans past on tactics for attacking the Indians made him the best man for the job in defending the western frontier. Much of Sheridans life involved being enrolled in the army and defending the frontier. He is also known for the quote The only good Indian is a dead Indian, which he became synonymous with. (13) Sheridans life practically ...

Annotated bibilography on evidence based research-pressure ulcers Essay

Annotated bibilography on evidence based research-pressure ulcers - Essay Example The available literature identifies its risk factors as: physiological alterations, diabetes, low tissue oxygen tension, nutritional deficiency, contractures, and paralysis. This annotated bibliography examines the effectiveness of different treatment and prevention strategies used in hospital settings. The available statistics suggest that the condition mainly affects male adults, and 3-10% of the hospitalized population. The risk of pressure ulcer is also high among neurologically impaired patients, and persons disabled by the spinal cord injuries. According to Mendez (2004) prevention is a key component of managing pressure ulcers, and the presentation of this condition occurs in 4 stages starting with erythema and ending with the infection of the underlying bone or muscle. Stage 1 is characterized by the reddening of the skin while in stage 2, the skin blisters form open sores. In the third stage, a crater is formed while in the final stage, the damages extend to the tendons, joi nts, muscles and bones. Some of the treatment method used include: de-pressurizing of the affected areas, surgical reconstruction, administration of and antibiotics. While treatment of the affected patients should be administered as soon as possible, prevention should be the first priority for the population as risk of this condition. In this regard, patients on bed rest should be checked frequently for pressure sores. Symptoms to watch out for include: red skin, open sores, blisters, foul smells from the ulcers, and swollen skin. For early detection, the caregiver should consider giving the patient a head to toe examination, and should pay close attention to the following areas: buttocks, elbows, hips, heels, ankles, shoulders, and back. For prevention of this condition, persons at risk should change positions once in every 2hours and use appropriate tool to cushion the affected areas. Most importantly, they should eat well balanced meals, drink lots of water, exercise regularly, u se creams to protect the skin and keep the skin dry and clean at all times. Reddy, M., Sedeep, S., & Rochon, P. (2006). Preventing pressure ulcers: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296(8), 974-984 This article which is written by competent authors seeks to examine the adverse health outcomes and treatment costs associated with pressusre ulcers. The objective of the article is to review the evidence examining interventions to prevent pressure ulcers. The systematic review utilizes sources from the MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL. All the databases are well known for publishing credible article dealing with different medical condition. The search strategy identified 763 citations, of which 59 randomized control trial were selected. As suggested by Moore and Cowman (2007), systematic review should have elaborate schemes to prevent bias, and maximize precision of the data obtained. At the same time, it should have a detailed exclusion and inclusion criteria, use clear research questions and adequately address the challenge of assessing the methodology quality of the selected studies. If possible, the systematic review should depend on current and credible secondary sources. In this case, of the citations identified, 650 were excluded since they were not randomized clinical trials, while 53 did not have adequate information about the outcome measures. The

Group and team behavior - Organizational behavior Assignment

Group and team behavior - Organizational behavior - Assignment Example Teams also perform management or supervisory role along with doing work. The revolutionary concept was adopted purely due to market needs and as a departure from traditional corporate functioning. The adoption has increased 3M productivity up to 300 % at some places. Advantages of using this system include improved customer relationship and loyalty, increased productivity and efficiency, greater freedom of action and adaptability, low organizational costs, less job categorization, worker welfare, improved services and survival of fittest. Limitations of using this system are initial risks, requisite training, time required in adopting culture, learning of basic management skills by all and bigger responsibility at lower level. Major challenges in this system are focus and involvement of employees, and customer satisfaction. Motivated employees are the best assets any firm can have. Rewarding for good performance is the best source of motivation. Rewards may be given in the form empow erment, recognition amongst peers, financial benefits, promotions, acknowledgement for creativity and innovation, training, quality of living and facilities. At 3M, work teams are rewarded with variable pay, which includes sales commissions and annual incentives.

Modernism and Postmodernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modernism and Postmodernism - Essay Example In the next section the focus will shift to the contribution and impact of modernism and postmodernism to our society. "Modernism signals a dialectical opposition to what is not functionally 'modern, namely 'tradition'." (Eysteinsson, 1990, pg.8). The term modernism refers to a movement that gained popularity in the closing years of the 19th century and was prevalent through the period of the world wars right upto the late 1940's. (criticalpoet website) Like any other socio-cultural movement, modernism has a great impact on the poetry, fiction, drama, painting, music and architecture of that era. The era of modernism has also been referred to as the period of 'scientific idealogy'. The ideologies of modernism were backed by scientific rationale and these scientific theories were used to expose the failing of rival beliefs. A popular example of modernist is the theory of Darwinism as against the Biblical Literalism. (Nine O'clock Service website) It was an era when people tried to break away from traditional beliefs and practices. breaking away from convention there were several experiments with news forms and styles of self expression. The website of the Nine O'clock Service quotes J.urry whi in his 'The tourist gaze: leisure and travel in contemporary societies' (1990) says Modernism ""involves structural differentiation. the separate development of a number of institutional and normative spheres; of the economy, the family, the state, science, morality, and an aesthetic realm" (p.84) The website goes on to state that the modernist sees ordered differences in all aspects of life like scientific and every day knowledge, literature and popular fiction class and mass"; "art and craft"; "education and entertainment or even serious and commercial. In terms of sociology, the modern society is said to reflect the industrialized world where technology plays an important role. The age also saw the break up of traditional communities and religious beliefs and individuals with their strength and convictions came into prominence. But modernism had its flaws. Over the years another school of thought challenged the modernists notion of truth as defined by science. This wave has been called 'post-modernism'. Historian Arnold Toynbee first used the term post-modern in 1939. A very broad based term, post modernism has come to define the beleife that there can be no absolute truth and focuses on the concept of relativity. It is a revolutionary theory that does not believe in the pursuit of truth on defined knowledge. Instead postmdernism believes that every experience is unique and temporary. (Rosenau.P, 1992, pg 26) It suggests that there are no single truths and experiences and circumstances define our understanding of truth. Post modernism too has had its impact on every walk of life. This theory came into prominence somewhere in the late 1940's and early 1950's. The idea of postmodernism is relevant in the works of thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche. His "death of God" movement propounded the theory that knowledge is interpretive with no one meaning. With the death of God Nietzsche held that moral truth was relative. The self was acclaimed as the most powerful who he termed superman. But with the rise of powerful men like Hitler and stalin who held the society to ransom, thinkers of the post war generation realized the significance of

Herbert Hoover Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Herbert Hoover - Article Example The Efficiency Movement of the United States, was a major part of the Progressive Era. The ideology championed by those who supported this movement, was that the society, government and the economy contained unwanted elements that bogged things down. In order to cleanse the system, experts must be appointed to identify the errors and to fix them. Hoover was a prominent figure who championed this movement. He held the view that the economy could be fixed and made better by coming up with technical solutions. However, it so happened that the Great Depression started in 1929, during the first year of Hoover's tenure as President. Since his ideology that the economy could be fixed, could not work in such a situation, he was the centre of criticism and mistrust. Herbert Hoover was a reformer and believed in improving the condition of livelihood of the citizens. He denounced the laissez-faire system and believed in regulating bills through Congress. In addition to this, he also supported volunteerism.

Female Songwriters Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Female Songwriters Paper - Essay Example While Pit Bull, Rod Stewart, and John Mayer write mostly about the shallow physicality of their relationships with women. Alanis Morisette, for one, is known as the Queen of Angst when it comes to her songs. Her music can best be described as raw and her lyrics, direct to the point but with a softer touch. Take for example her lyrics to the song Perfect (1995) which talks about the sheer physical perfection of the man she is with. She sang; â€Å"If you're flawless, then you'll win my love , Don't forget to win first place , don't forget to keep that smile on your face , be a good boy , try a little harder , you've got to measure up and make me prouder†. The lyrics that Ms. Morisette chose to use has a more subtle way of objectifying men. Her lyrics contain sexual innuendos which are never crass nor blatant. Instead, she offers a sensitive portrayal of how men must work just as hard as women to win a partner's love. For her, love is not all about the physicality of the act but rather what goes on behind it. It is through that compatibility and understanding that a woman becomes truly proud of her man. Male songwriter's also have similarly themed lyrics. However, men have a more direct to the point and mostly sexual stance when composing their songs. Take for example the lyrics in the John Mayer song Your Body is a Wonderland (2001). He sings the following lyrics to his beloved; â€Å" Something 'bout the way the hair falls in your face . I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase . You tell me where to go and though I might leave to find it I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it .† The song can almost be seen as the male counterpart of Morisette's lyrics since his song dwells on the perfection of the female body but without the almost poetic description of the sexual connection of the female physique with a â€Å"perfect† love borne out mostly out of lust and desire than compatibility. Both songs speak of the act of the emotions the songwriters are feeling during the act of lovemaking. Yet Morisette is more ambiguous about it, thus causing her listeners to think more about what her lyrics truly mean. While Mayer leaves very little to the imagination as men prefer to be more directly descriptive in their lyrics than women one cannot deny that he does his best to romanticize the act of lovemaking in a way that only men seem to understand. Although the lyrics are poetic, there is no mistaking what the topic of the song is all about. This method of writing lyrics is something that female songwriter's do not normally do because the female lyrics tend to have veiled double meanings attached to them. Both men and women clearly write about their relationship troubles. But men have a lesser emotional investment in the relationship. Thus they see a different solution to the problem than women. This can be heard in the way Pit Bull described the end of his relationship with a girl in h is 2011 hit Hey Baby where he rapped about the freedom that being a single man brings to his life; â€Å" I’m a Dade county, self paid self made millionaire . I used to play around the world, now I’m around the world - gettin paid. Girl problems, no problems , doin anything that won’t solve em . I wanna get witcha mami, now let me see what the lord split

Tempering Justice With Mercy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Tempering Justice With Mercy - Essay Example When arguing on the basis of proportionality of punishment, people tend to question the effect of mercy on justice, whether mercy makes victims receive more punishment in legal the system than they deserve or that people receive less punishment than they deserve. This is because when mercy is considered in the process of delivering justice, it would either lead to a sentence being either lower than deserving of a victim or make a victim get lesser sentence than a crime deserves. This dilemma has made many question the appropriateness of fusing justice with mercy and thus tempering justice with mercy. Whiles some reason that mercy is necessary in ensuring that people receive the most proportionate form of punishment due to the nature and circumstances surrounding their crime, there are others who have said that mercy often make people take less than they deserve for their crime and thus serve as an indictment on the legal system. In this paper, the issue of tempering justice with mercy is given a very critical and well researched overview. This is because it is commonly thought that if judges in criminal cases are obliged to do justice, justice must always be allowed to prevail without any disruptions with mercy. In the same manner, prosecutors and parole boards are expected to exercise discretion with maximum justice.

Herbert Hoover Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Herbert Hoover - Article Example The Efficiency Movement of the United States, was a major part of the Progressive Era. The ideology championed by those who supported this movement, was that the society, government and the economy contained unwanted elements that bogged things down. In order to cleanse the system, experts must be appointed to identify the errors and to fix them. Hoover was a prominent figure who championed this movement. He held the view that the economy could be fixed and made better by coming up with technical solutions. However, it so happened that the Great Depression started in 1929, during the first year of Hoover's tenure as President. Since his ideology that the economy could be fixed, could not work in such a situation, he was the centre of criticism and mistrust. Herbert Hoover was a reformer and believed in improving the condition of livelihood of the citizens. He denounced the laissez-faire system and believed in regulating bills through Congress. In addition to this, he also supported volunteerism.

Tempering Justice With Mercy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Tempering Justice With Mercy - Essay Example When arguing on the basis of proportionality of punishment, people tend to question the effect of mercy on justice, whether mercy makes victims receive more punishment in legal the system than they deserve or that people receive less punishment than they deserve. This is because when mercy is considered in the process of delivering justice, it would either lead to a sentence being either lower than deserving of a victim or make a victim get lesser sentence than a crime deserves. This dilemma has made many question the appropriateness of fusing justice with mercy and thus tempering justice with mercy. Whiles some reason that mercy is necessary in ensuring that people receive the most proportionate form of punishment due to the nature and circumstances surrounding their crime, there are others who have said that mercy often make people take less than they deserve for their crime and thus serve as an indictment on the legal system. In this paper, the issue of tempering justice with mercy is given a very critical and well researched overview. This is because it is commonly thought that if judges in criminal cases are obliged to do justice, justice must always be allowed to prevail without any disruptions with mercy. In the same manner, prosecutors and parole boards are expected to exercise discretion with maximum justice.

The Reality of the Truth Essay Example for Free

The Reality of the Truth Essay What exactly is the truth? Is it reality, sincerity, integrity? Is it accuracy and honesty? How can we tell the difference between the truth and lies? Why does the media have the power to decide for us what is true? As Oscar Wilde once said The truth is rarely pure and never simple. This statement sums up the difficulties of telling the truth, and this is furthermore shown in Rob Sitch et als Frontline, Lies by Michael Leunig and the poem Nothing to Report by May Herschel Clarke. The television show Frontline follows the day to day running of a current affairs show. It shows both on and off air aspects of what people involved with television go though on a daily basis. Mike Moore (Rob Sitch) plays the naive host of the show, who seems to think the whole world revolves around him. An example of this is when Emma sarcastically thanks him for helping with a story and he says Thats ok. Brian is the executive manager of the show and he ultimately decides what is shown on the show and what isnt. Brooke is another reporter who uses deception and manipulation to present the truth. Emma does work behind the scenes and often she should be credited, but the reporters need their ego maintained so she is never recognised for her hard work. Marty is another reporter who has been in the business for a long time, and although he knows about Frontline presenting the incorrect truth, he does nothing to stop them. Like all current affairs shows, the team at Frontline are concerned with gaining ratings every night, rather than telling the real truth to people. One example of this is during the episode Add sex and stir where Brooke interviews a woman booted off her sports team because she wasnt a lesbian. This in fact is not the truth because she was kicked off the team due to her poor form, not her sexuality. Viewers are then manipulated into thinking that the sport is a lesbian sport, and the reputations of the team and sport are ruined. Marty sums up this sensationalising of real truth in one quote, Ancient current affairs recipe my grandmother gave me, you take any story, add sex and stir (Marty, Add sex and stir) Dismissal of the real truth is another technique that the current affairs show Frontline uses to gain ratings. In the episode We aint got dames, Mike wishes to do a story on illegal sweatshops, but Brian dismisses it as being too heavy for the viewers. After much persuasion, Mike thinks he has convinced Brian to show his story (because his ego has finally been satisfied), but the story ends up being a fashion show, totally insulting any work that Mike has done. Although this story did attract more viewers than the sweatshop story would have, it only promotes the fact that viewers lack in knowledge about the real current issues, and they need to show pretty people with bright lights to get their attention. There are many techniques used in Frontline which expose the manipulation that current affairs shows go through to gain ratings. Irony is shown in the episode The siege, where Brooke asks Mrs. Forbes to sign a contract so only frontline can report her story because, Some shows are very unscrupulous (Brooke, The Seige) Brooke says not to give the story to other stations because they might twist her story around to bring out a point she wasnt making, but the irony was that their show was doing exactly that. Use of a handheld camera behind the scenes of the current affairs show can bring out the truth behind the lies, what we see on television may not be true in real life. This applies to Mike in the episode Add sex and stir where he is on Burkes Backyard. He is asked questions about current affairs and does not know how to answer them, then tries to defend himself by asking Burke about plants but he knows everything about them. Although he is shown as an intelligent and well presented man on television, in real life he doesnt know anything. This is also seen when Mike takes part in an ABC debate, but during his introduction all of his material is said and Mike doesnt have anything good to say, which shows that he is not a good speaker in person as he is behind the desk. There is also use of verisimilitude in the show Frontline, with many real media personalities being on the show to make it seem more realistic in telling the truth. Examples of these celebrities are Harry M Miller, Cheryl Kernot, and Bert Newton. The cartoon Lies by Michael Leunig also exposes that the media manipulates and distorts the truth, so it really is presented to us as a lie or the untruth. The cartoon shows people living in their world, but everything has the label lies on it. The billboard which says lies shows that many companies engage in deceptive advertising, and although they arent supposed to do that, they still convince people to buying their products. The newspaper titled lies shows that journalists write from their own perspective and can distort the truth to suit their opinions. The person wearing the lies shirt shows that behind brand name corporations there are lies. An example of this is making clothing in sweatshops then selling it for triple the price of what its really worth (like Nike shoes) and people are paying top dollar just to wear a symbol, which supposedly brings them into an elite group of people, but really they are just lying to themselves. The point Michael Leunig is trying to make is enforced through the main technique of repetition. The word lies is seen 11 times in the comic, and it is the only word on the cartoon. If lies was only mentioned once, many people would not take notice of it, but since it is printed on the billboard, buildings, truck, newspaper, shirt and drink, it shows that lies are everywhere and it really is a big issue. Like the television series Frontline, this cartoon exposes that the world we live in is full of lies and deception, and the media controls what we see and listen to. It is their opinion what we believe, and many people, rather than refuting what is being presented to them in the media, just believe it and keep going with their lives. The poem Nothing to Report by May Herschel Clarke is written during the war times (1940s). During this time, leaders of the country were trying to convince people to fight overseas as a soldier, with hope of coming back as a brave hero. For this heroic image to come to light, anything negative about death in the war would have to be shielded from the people, or else they wouldnt enlist. Ms Clarkes poem targets this issue, talking about how easily death can come, One minute we was laughin next he lays beside me, grinnin dead. After the death, the papers had nothing to report; therefore they were with holding the truth from people. May Herschel Clarke couldnt possibly have been the only one with a death not reported, but no one else seemed to be doing anything about it, because the media has always been very powerful. The poem is written in colloquial language, which could reflect on her education, upbringing or location. This could also be written in that style to follow a rhyming sequence. The last line is a metaphor which shows that the paper is such an effective form of communication, it might as well be a person. Theres nothin to report the papers said This text is very similar to the television series Frontline, in trying to expose the media in its with holding and distortion of the truth. Another example in frontline of withholding the truth is during the episode This night of nights where Mike wishes to do a story about Telecom tapping into phone conversations, but seeing as they are a major sponsor of the television show, frontline cant expose the truth, and give Mike a mobile phone to help him forget about it. If this truth was exposed, telecom would have received many complaints and much abuse, but they would have deserved it. Instead there are still people at home not suspecting a thing. In the end Mike is disadvantaged from not pursuing the story because they listen to his phone conversation about being caught drink driving, and expose him in the newspapers. In the poem Nothing to report, the last line sums up that the media does with hold information and it shouldnt be their right to decide what we see or dont see. Telling the truth is a hard concept to deal with. From the texts Frontline (Rob Sitch et. al. ), Lies by Michael Leunig and Nothing to Report by May. Herschel Clarke we can see that the media does control what we see and believe, but it isnt necessarily the truth. Why does the media have the power to decide what is true? Well if they presented us the facts and let us decide for ourselves, they wouldnt have ratings. We are surrounded by the media (as seen in lies) and it is hard for us to ignore it all. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, in listening to the truth there is always some form of bias, but we must leave it to ourselves to find out many versions of the so called truth and decide for ourselves what we believe.